33 Further analysis is required to understand how regulations could impact the feasibility of SBSP systems and how NASA should work with the relevant regulatory bodies. 3. Policy Challenges – Several policy implications could impact SBSP deployment. The most notable concern is the safety of power beaming. In addition, the anticipated number of launches for assembly and refueling introduce orbital debris concerns at a time when many nations are looking to reduce their orbital footprint. Cybersecurity is also a significant concern. 4. Industrial Base and Supply Chain – The scale of the SBSP reference designs would aggravate industrial base and supply chain hurdles, including raw material and skilled workforce availability, that are common to all space missions. Our work did not assess whether the aerospace industry can realistically support the level of effort required for SBSP and what changes, if any, would be required to support this demand. 5. Launch Cadence – Our study assumed SpaceX’s advertised Starship launch cadence, but how realistic that is remains to be seen. Nor is it clear how many of those flights would be available to launch an SBSP system. Additional analysis should be done on the feasibility of SBSP under multiple launch-cadence scenarios, in part to determine the minimum cadence required to deploy a system in the desired timeframe. The analysis may also consider the realism of SpaceX's planned launch cadence. 6. Propulsion – EP is cleaner but slower than chemical propulsion. However, advances are being made in EP technologies that may reduce the timeline to assemble an SBSP system. We recommend monitoring these advances to determine whether they make EP a more feasible option for SBSP. 7. Efficiencies of Scale – Our analysis looked at the costs to get to the first full-scale system in place, but did not consider whether efficiencies would be realized over time as additional SBSP systems are deployed. Additional analysis should be conducted to assess whether there are opportunities to lower the costs of future SBSP systems once the initial capability is demonstrated.
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